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Relative Atomic Mass

Relative atomic mass (Ar) is the average mass of an element compared to one-twelfth the mass of a single carbon-12 atom.

What does this mean?

What does this mean?

  • 1amu is defined as one-twelfth of the mass of a single carbon-12 atom.
  • So Ar is the average mass of an element in units of amu.
What is the average mass?

What is the average mass?

  • Almost every element has multiple stable isotopes.
    • This means that some atoms of an element will weigh more than others.
  • The average mass is the average of the masses of the elements, weighted according to their abundance.
    • E.g. 35Cl is 75% abundant and 37Cl is 25% abundant.
      • Ar = (0.75 × 35) + (0.25 × 37) = 35.5

Relative Molecular Mass

Relative molecular mass (Mr) is the average mass of a molecule compared to one-twelfth the mass of a single carbon-12 atom.

What does this mean?

What does this mean?

  • 1amu is defined as one-twelfth of the mass of a single carbon-12 atom.
  • So Mr is the average mass of a molecule in the units of amu.
What is the average mass?

What is the average mass?

  • Recall that the Ar takes into account the differences in mass and abundance of isotopes.
  • This means that we can simply add the Ar values for all the atoms in a molecule to calculate the Mr!
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